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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614890">When We Were Young</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWalkingGrimes/pseuds/TheWalkingGrimes'>TheWalkingGrimes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of District Four [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunger Games Series - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Annie and Finnick don't know each other as kids but they've seen each other around, Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:00:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>918</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWalkingGrimes/pseuds/TheWalkingGrimes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie doesn't really know Finnick, except the time that she goes swimming and he steals her clothes and she gets her revenge.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annie Cresta &amp; Finnick Odair, Pre-Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of District Four [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018845</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When We Were Young</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Annie doesn’t remember meeting him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s just always sort of been there. When Annie and the other market kids would run off to the docks, trying to haggle for some of the freshest fish right off the boat, jumping into the water for a swim. That’s when the market kids would intermingle with the fishing brats - on days when the sun was high and the catch was good, when they could all take a minute to just breathe and be children splashing each other in the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thinks she remembers her friend Haley saying something about him once. Or maybe it was Lyra. Probably both. They were always pointing out boys they thought were cute, Lyra in particular always seemed to find someone new to hold hands with or carry her books to school for her every month. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annie was shyer. Got stuck easier. And for most of the time growing up she was stuck on her friend Percy, with his kind smile and dark hair that was like hers - unusual for Four, with their sun kissed locks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he’s always there, just part of the rowdy pack of fishing boys who spend their days working the docks and then the boats when they get older. If there’s mischief afoot he’s always at the heart of it, him and a few other boys that Annie learns quickly to associate with </span>
  <em>
    <span>trouble. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He steals her clothes one time. A few of the boys do it when she and her friends are in the water, run and hide them somewhere, then sit innocently on the end of the dock where their clothes were supposed to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annie approaches and he’s sitting directly where she left hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give ‘em back.” She says peevishly, treading water in place. There’s not much embarrassment about it because all of their underclothes are designed for swimming and plenty of children just walk around like that in the heat of the summer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Annie has never appreciated being made fun of, even as a little girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grins down at her and Annie is only seven but she can see in his wide smile and sparkling eyes why Haley and Lyra sometimes giggle when he’s around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the magic word?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His friends laugh and Annie’s cheeks burn red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she does the only logical thing one could possibly do in that situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She dives under the water, surging up when he’s least expecting it to snatch at his ankles and yank him into the water. His friends laugh again but this time it’s not directed at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he resurfaces, spitting water he almost looks annoyed for a moment before it melts away and he joins in with their easy laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay truce.” He sticks out a hand to her but Annie is still annoyed so she splashes him in the face and pulls herself out of the water, following the trail of wet footprints on the dock to where her clothes are stashed.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she gets older she sees him less - him, a few of his friends, a few of the bigger and faster boys and girls from her school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When her time comes, Annie isn’t recommended for training. She’s decently fast and an excellent swimmer, but she’s good with numbers and reading and they decide she’ll better serve the community if she keeps up with full time school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(She’s still trained a little of course - all the children of Four are. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Recreation </span>
  </em>
  <span>is what they call it, where they learn to sharpen knives and go out on boat excursions for spear fishing lessons. Annie ignores the knot in her throat when her aim is true and the spear sinks into the soft flesh of a fish. Blood pours out and she reminds herself that it’ll never be her. This training is just a precaution).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her first Reaping is nerve wracking. She tells herself it shouldn’t be - Four is on a Volunteer streak, and they haven’t sent a twelve year old into the arena in her lifetime.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We take care of our own, </span>
  </em>
  <span>they always say, with a proud tilt of their heads.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl is called and sure enough she’s replaced by a strong-jawed Volunteer - Annie recognizes her, she’s in her brother’s year. Eighteen and healthy. The district is pleased with their choice and Annie allows herself to resurface for air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy is called - Annie doesn’t know who - and he’s replaced by a Volunteer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s the clothes thief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which seems wrong - he’s not much older than she is, only a couple years she thinks - but he’s smiling with bravado as he climbs the stage and he’s taller than the girl despite the age gap with shoulders that are beginning to broaden into manhood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are a few uncertain murmurs in the crowd - is this a usurper? Sometimes that happens, a Volunteer who wasn’t pre-selected by the trainers, who gets it in their head to go for glory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of those ill-advised Volunteers have ever won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no, there’s only nods of assurance from the trainers on the sides. This was the plan. They’ve picked him for a reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what a handsome young man!” Their escort, Hapitha, gushes in a way she did not for the girl. “How old are you dear?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fourteen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flash of teeth. To Annie it looks less like a smile and more like a shark revealing its teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finnick Odair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Annie learns who he is, along with the rest of Panem.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know there is no agreement about whether Finnick was Reaped or Volunteered, but for the sake of this verse I'm saying that he Volunteered (I go back and forth on this, and think it could've been either way).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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